The Useless Ones

Mantou and Singo chatted idly as they walked toward the Imperial Agency, Mantou still carrying the frost giant's severed head to claim his bounty. However, the road ahead was swarming with people. Players were packed tightly together, practically blocking the street and drawing numerous peace officers to maintain order. "Don't shove! I was here first!" "Out of the way! Move it!" "Aaargh! I saved up for three whole months just for today!" The crisp yet somewhat helpless voice of a yuan-ti woman came through a loudspeaker: "Citizens, please queue up in an orderly fashion and make your purchases in turn! Our shop is directly operated by the imperial authorities and has ample stock, so there is no need to worry." "Ooooh!" "Miss Snake-girl, I love you! Give me good loot!" Yet her announcement had no effect. The players only grew more enthusiastic, letting out rowdy howls. The scene grew increasingly chaotic, resembling a massive fan meetup, and obstructed many pedestrians. "Citizens, obey imperial rules and regulations!" "Ah! Help! The peace officers are beating people!" "We're beating lawbreakers like you!" Only when the peace officers raised their batons and stepped forward to administer some personal "education" did the players rein themselves in and obediently fall into line. By then, however, the street was already a chaotic mess. The players whined and wailed loudly, while onlookers shook their heads, their faces full of disgust as they murmured among themselves. "Dammit, it's those useless ones again." "Get them out of the way! I'm in a rush to inspect an order." "What use are they to the Empire's development anyway? Insatiable leeches!" "Indeed. They aren't even worthy of being in this sacred city basking in the glory of the great red dragon. They're the shame of Isdalia!" The imperial citizens' comments were merciless and grating to the ear. These "useless ones" had an awful reputation in Isdalia. They were all Starfallen, requiring no shelter—they would simply collapse and lie down on the ground wherever they were, severely tarnishing the city's appearance. Moreover, whenever news of job openings or commissions broke, these Starfallen swarmed in, consistently stealing jobs from Isdalia's native residents by accepting rock-bottom wages. On top of that, these Starfallen were virtually tireless, never taking breaks, and existed in staggering numbers, severely disrupting the daily lives of Isdalia's citizens. Consequently, banners reading "Expel the Useless" and "Clean Up Isdalia" were hoisted by angry citizens, who held several large-scale protests. They had even sent representatives to submit a proposal to the Citizens' Assembly to banish the new Starfallen, though after heated debate, the matter had quietly fizzled out. The "Starfallen issue" had not been resolved as it should have been, and had only grown worse. Listening to the citizens' increasingly fierce rhetoric, Mantou—who stood nearby disguised as a native—felt a little uncomfortable. He asked in a low voice, "What's going on here? Why are there so many newbie players gathered together?" Singo pointed toward a distant signpost engraved with the Cinder Crest. "Look over there. That's the second official imperial store opened in the city. It's selling Cassius's Secret Trove." At the mention of "Cassius's Secret Trove," Mantou was instantly reminded of certain unbearable memories, and his expression grew somber. "Holy crap... "People are actually still buying that scam?" Singo chuckled gloatingly. "Not only are they buying it, they've bought out the entire stock before. Those chests can drop rare gear now. Pull one, and you're set for life. Word is, plenty of newbies work day and night to earn money, and the moment they save up enough, they come gamble on chests here—though most end up losing everything right down to their underwear." Looking at the enthusiastic crowd, Mantou couldn't help shaking his head. "Tsk, tsk. Poor newbies. They haven't tasted the cruel beatings of the damn game devs yet." "It's opening! It's opening!" "This is Brother Otter's seventh chest, isn't it? What a baller!" Raucous shouts came from the players ahead, piquing even Mantou's curiosity. He clambered onto Noodles's back, and sure enough, spotted the famous video creator Great River Otter surrounded by the crowd. Only right now, Great River Otter was breathing heavily, his face flushed red and his eyes locked onto the chest before him, bearing an expression that looked all too familiar to Mantou. Placing his hands on the final chest, Great River Otter slowly shut his eyes like a condemned prisoner about to step onto the execution ground. "The moment of miracles has arrived!" "Hahaha, Otter's definitely cursed for sure!" The watching players grew rowdy again, cheering and hooting. Summoning all his strength, Otter jerked open the metal lid, bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Damn you, dog dev! Give me the loot, aaaaah!" *Flash—!* A blinding white light flared, and a pair of foul-smelling leather trousers lay quietly inside the chest. Great River Otter sank to his knees, his eyes vacant, muttering something under his breath. "Three months of saved gold coins..." [Kobold's Stinky Leather Breeches] "What? Could it be the legendary Jinx Set?" "As expected of Brother Otter! To actually pull a collector's artifact of this caliber!" "Yeah, pulling white common gear these days makes him a legend in his own right!" Another new player had watched his dreams shatter. Seeing this familiar scene, Mantou, who was watching from the wyvern's back, couldn't help bursting into laughter. Then, sighing with feigned solemnity and pity, he remarked: "'The generations that followed grieved for them without learning from their errors, thus condemning yet later generations to grieve anew!' Alas, another heartbreaking tale—" Yet in his heart, he thought: *Hey, brand-new video material!* Singo spoke up impatiently, "All right, stop ogling the spectacle. Hurry up and turn in your bounty. We still have important business to attend to." Glancing at the crestfallen Otter with lingering sympathy, Mantou climbed down from the wyvern's back and continued toward the agency. Upon reaching the Imperial Agency, the outside was still packed with people—aimless players in beginner gear wandering everywhere. "So many people..." Mantou couldn't help marveling. He walked up to the quest submission counter and handed the burlap sack containing the frost giant's head to the tiefling woman in charge of reception. "Here, the head of that rioting frost giant slave." The tiefling woman untied the sack, her brow immediately furrowing. "My apologies, Lord Viscount. According to imperial regulations, frost giants who awaken the Everfrost power must be kept intact and handed over to the imperial Ministry of Magic for processing. Your actions compromised the integrity of the corpse, so according to custom... I can only award you half of the bounty." With that, she offered an apologetic smile. "In truth, you only needed to record a magical image of the frost giant to turn in the quest." "Are you kidding me..." Mantou took the five gold coins, on the verge of tears, and slapped himself. Why had his hands been so itchy back then? Why did he have to chop off the frost giant's head! Watching the tiefling pocket the other half of the bounty, Mantou clutched his somewhat deflated coin pouch, ground his teeth, and turned around with grim resolve. "Dammit, I have to take on more quests this time to earn back all the gold I lost!" Just then, Singo's faintly mocking voice sounded from beside him. "Heh, look around. Do you really think there are any quests left for you?" "How could there not be?" Mantou raised his head and looked at the bounty board in the hall, only to discover in astonishment that there were only a handful of quests posted. Whenever a new quest refreshed, it would instantly be snapped up by the players mobbing the counter, with even more players queuing up behind them. Fortunately, some quests had level restrictions, giving Mantou a chance to snag a few under the predatory gazes of hundreds of rookie players. Singo patted Mantou's shoulder and said, "Mantou, haven't you noticed... there are a few too many players within the Empire?" "No kidding." Mantou looked around at the crowded beginner players, completely relating to the sentiment. Singo added, "According to official data released yesterday, Elezerg has a total of eleven million active players. And three million of those chose the Great Anzetta Waste—meaning the Cinder Empire—as their starting point. Keep in mind, the Empire's total population is only around eight million. What's more, a huge portion of these new players chose Isdalia, an imperial capital overflowing with coin and opportunity." Watching the players swarm quests like a plague of locusts, Mantou couldn't help asking, "If this goes on, Isdalia's resources won't be nearly enough... Good grief, three million players—that's almost more than the local NPCs." Singo pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "At this point, tensions between the Empire's native residents and the new players are nearing the breaking point. According to reliable insider intel, the imperial government will soon roll out a series of measures to restrict the entry of these 'useless ones.'" Mantou beamed and clapped in celebration. "Great, excellent! Clamp down hard on these newbies! Isdalia needs high-quality talent like me..." Singo wagged a finger, sneering. "Don't celebrate too soon. With more and more players flooding Elezerg, the pie inside the Cinder Empire will only shrink per person." Mantou panicked. "Then what should we do?" Singo smiled mysteriously. "You'll see in a bit. Follow me." Mantou checked Noodles into the wyvern park at the Redscale Garrison, then followed Singo to a new location. Stained-glass floor-to-ceiling windows, medieval-style architecture, shimmering magic circles, and glowing auras—this was the Magic Agency, the headquarters of the Magic Coin guild. Once inside, Mantou and Singo finally shed their disguises, returning to their true appearances. Seated nearby, Feitian Nüwu looked visibly delighted to see them. "You're finally here! The guild leader has been waiting ages for you two." After greeting the receptionist, Singo and Mantou were guided by Feitian Nüwu onto the elevator in the hall. *Hum—* Beneath the trio's feet, a complex magic circle on the stone slab shimmered with faint blue light. Mantou looked down and marveled, "Holy shit, permanent gravity magic! You Magic Coin caster lords really are loaded. You actually use stuff like this for an elevator." Feitian Nüwu scratched her head. "It's all right, I guess. We tried talking the guild leader into switching to stairs before, but he wouldn't listen. He told us that for a caster, the single most important thing is flair." Even Singo chimed in, "Your guild leader truly lives up to his name as Elezerg's number-one sucker." Moments later, carried by the permanent Reverse Gravity spell, the stone slab beneath their feet ascended seven floors, arriving at the top of the Magic Agency. After passing through a corridor lined with oil paintings, they finally arrived before the doors of the conference room. The stone statue carved onto the doors seemed to notice their arrival. Like a living creature, it slowly opened its eyes and mouth, uttering in a low, calm voice: "Guests..." "Welcome..." "Please enter..." Mantou looked curiously at the animated statue. "Magic Coin's door is pretty neat." "Please enter... ugly human." Mantou instantly flared up, glaring angrily at the statue. "You tasteless rock, who are you calling ugly?" *Rumble—* Before the statue could say more, the doors slowly slid open. Clad in magnificent wizard robes and clutching a mithril scepter, Charlotte came forward with a broad smile. "Hahaha, you're finally here! We were just waiting on the two of you." "So many people?" Mantou looked closely, startled to find over a hundred players already assembled inside the conference room, all of them familiar faces—Tiansheng Zhankuang and Xiaye Qiuyu were right among them. Only then did Singo speak up with utter confidence. "Now you know why I called you over, right? Everyone who can make it into this room is a top-tier player." Mantou struck a proud pose with hands on his hips. "See? I told you I'm a pro gamer." "..." Without waiting for confirmation, Mantou waved enthusiastically ahead. "Brother Zhankuang, long time no see!" Not far away, Tiansheng Zhankuang rubbed his polished bald head and greeted Mantou in return. "Doing pretty well for yourself, huh? You're a viscount now too." Mantou turned to ask, "What did Charlotte gather so many people for?" Xiaye Qiuyu turned around as well and smiled. "Their old trade, of course." "What old trade?" "Double agents." Under everyone's watchful eyes, Charlotte mysteriously unrolled a parchment scroll and addressed the room: "Everyone—behold! The Empire's latest grand event: the Thrace Infiltration Quest, now officially released! Do you crave wealth? Do you desire spell scrolls? Do you want Faction Contribution and EXP? Then join us heading south to become glorious imperial undercover agents!" "Good grief..." Watching the animated, beaming Charlotte, Mantou was utterly dumbfounded. *Is this what caster flair is all about?* *Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! To make being a turncoat sound so honorable and righteous!* Before Charlotte's voice even faded, a translucent quest interface expanded slowly before Mantou. [Hidden Hero] [Quest Giver: Cinder Empire] [Requirements: Reach level 8 in any class] [Description: The former glory of the Holy Fadlan Empire is no more. Across the vast Feanso Continent, three kings wage a brutal war for power and ambition. The displaced Fadlan populace now wanders homeless, suffering through the ravages of war. His Great and Merciful Majesty Cassius cannot bear to watch the people of Fadlan endure such misery and has resolved to intervene to put an end to this catastrophe. And you, warriors of the Empire, shall serve as the Cinder Empire's vanguard. Infiltrate the Kingdom of Thrace and become hidden heroes.]